Sakura

Owner Miyoko Omori came to America from Saitama, Japan, in 1970. She waited tables at Fuji Ya in Minneapolis for seven years until she and her then-husband opened Kikugawa, in Minneapolis, in 1979. In 1990, Miyoko was determined to open her own restaurant. She left Kikugawa with only her last paycheck. Her enthusiasm alone convinced the owner of Galtier Plaza in Saint Paul to rent her a space and loan her startup money. Miyoko named her new restaurant Sakura, Japanese for Cherry blossom, because she was born in April, the time when the cherry trees bloom in Japan.